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''Win Ben Stein's Money'' is a GameShow produced for Creator/ComedyCentral from 1997 to 2003, hosted by [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan actor]] and former political speechwriter [[Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff Ben Stein]]. The initial co-host was radio personality turned late-night TalkShow host Creator/JimmyKimmel, who was later replaced by Nancy Pimental, and later by Kimmel's own cousin, Sal Iacono. Using the common "quiz show" game model, and sporting a humorous atmosphere (as befitting a Comedy Central program), the show might have been forgotten as merely another ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' clone if not for its unique concept — [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the contestants really]] ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin were]]'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin competing for Ben Stein's money.]]

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''Win Ben Stein's Money'' is a GameShow produced for Creator/ComedyCentral from 1997 to 2003, hosted by [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan actor]] and former political speechwriter [[Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff Ben Stein]].Creator/BenStein. The initial co-host was radio personality turned late-night TalkShow host Creator/JimmyKimmel, who was later replaced by Nancy Pimental, and later by Kimmel's own cousin, Sal Iacono. Using the common "quiz show" game model, and sporting a humorous atmosphere (as befitting a Comedy Central program), the show might have been forgotten as merely another ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' clone if not for its unique concept — [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the contestants really]] ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin were]]'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin competing for Ben Stein's money.]]
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--> '''Ben:''' So far, you've managed to take $<x> away from me, and that is yours to keep, no matter what happens. But now you have a chance--albeit a small one--to walk away with all $5,000 of my money, which Jimmy is now wheeling towards us in this safe. And all you have to do is beat me in what we call the "Best of Ten Test of Knowledge." Would you explain it to the group, please, Jimmy?\\

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--> '''Ben:''' So far, you've managed to take $<x> away from me, and that is yours to keep, no matter what happens. But now you have a chance--albeit a small one--to one[[note]]If the contestant managed a significant winning total - generally anything over $1,500 - Ben would sometimes change this to "And I'd say a pretty damn good one"[[/note]]--to walk away with all $5,000 of my money, which Jimmy is now wheeling towards us in this safe. And all you have to do is beat me in what we call the "Best of Ten Test of Knowledge." Would you explain it to the group, please, Jimmy?\\
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* AllOrNothing: At the end of the first two rounds, the contestant with the lowest score--or the loser of a SuddenDeath question--is eliminated and any money they earned is taken away and returned to Ben Stein's Prize Pot. Averted with the last remaining player, who got to keep any money they already earned regardless of the outcome of the Best of Ten Test of Knowledge.

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* AllOrNothing: At the end of the first two rounds, the contestant with the lowest score--or the loser of a SuddenDeath TiebreakerRound question--is eliminated and any money they earned is taken away and returned to Ben Stein's Prize Pot. Averted with the last remaining player, who got to keep any money they already earned regardless of the outcome of the Best of Ten Test of Knowledge.
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* RulesSpiel

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* RulesSpielRulesSpiel:
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* TransatlanticEquivalent: ''[[http://ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Win_Beadle%27s_Money Win Jeremy Beadle's Money]]'' aired on Creator/ChannelFive from 2 August to 22 December 1999. Appropriately, Beadle was just as NintendoHard as Stein.

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* TransatlanticEquivalent: ''[[http://ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Win_Beadle%27s_Money Win Jeremy Beadle's Money]]'' aired on Creator/ChannelFive Creator/Channel5 from 2 August to 22 December 1999. Appropriately, Beadle was just as NintendoHard as Stein.
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--->'''Jimmy:''' [[ADateWithRosiePalms I won't be able to masturbate for a week!]]

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--->'''Jimmy:''' [[ADateWithRosiePalms I won't be able to masturbate for a week!]]week!
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The show offered a $5,000 prize pot which constituted Stein's paycheck for each episode, of which the contestants tried to earn as much as they could. The remainder of the pot went home with Stein, so in a very real sense, contestants were taking money out of Stein's pocket. (Of course, Stein was also paid a normal salary on top of his "winnings".) [[note]]Valleycrest, the producers of the program - the same people who produced the American version of ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', and a division of Buena Vista Television, which was in turn a division of Disney (it was renamed as Disney-ABC Domestic Television in 2007) - set a prize budget for each season. If anything was left from that at the end of the season, Ben got to keep it. If the contestants were better than expected, and the prize budget was exceeded, then it was Valleycrest/Buena Vista/Disney, not Ben, that paid out the overage.[[/note]]

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The show offered a $5,000 prize pot which constituted Stein's paycheck for each episode, of which the contestants tried to earn as much as they could. The remainder of the pot went home with Stein, so in a very real sense, contestants were taking money out of Stein's pocket. (Of course, Stein was also paid a normal salary on top of his "winnings".) [[note]]Valleycrest, )[[note]]Valleycrest, the producers of the program - the same people who produced the American version of ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', and a division of Buena Vista Television, which was in turn a division of Disney (it was renamed as Disney-ABC Domestic Television in 2007) - set a prize budget for each season. If anything was left from that at the end of the season, Ben got to keep it. If the contestants were better than expected, and the prize budget was exceeded, then it was Valleycrest/Buena Vista/Disney, not Ben, that paid out the overage.[[/note]]
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'''Ben:''' Welcome back. As this rounds begins, Troper 1 has $<x> of my money, Troper 2 has $<y> of my money, and I have a mere $<5,000-(x+y)> remaining of my original $5,000 stake, which I will now defend by becoming a common contestant!\\

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'''Ben:''' Welcome back. As this rounds begins, Troper 1 has $<x> of my money, Troper 2 has $<y> of my money, and I have a mere $<5,000-(x+y)> $<5,000 - (x + y)> remaining of my original $5,000 stake, which I will now defend by becoming a common contestant!\\
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'''Jimmy''' (''during a Ben win''): Are hookers deductible as "entertainment expenses"? (''To which Ben answered, "Yes, of course."''')\\

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'''Jimmy''' (''during a Ben win''): Are hookers deductible as "entertainment expenses"? (''To which Ben answered, "Yes, of course."''')\\"'')\\
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** Before Round 2, Jimmy would say "Now we'll see just how smart Ben really is as we play more of ''[[TitleDrop Win Ben Stein's Money]]''."

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** Before Round 2, Jimmy the co-host would say "Now we'll see just how smart Ben really is as we play more of ''[[TitleDrop Win Ben Stein's Money]]''."Money]]''!"
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* BonusRound: The Best of Ten Test of Knowledge. Each side had 60 seconds to answer the same 10 questions. If the player lost, they only kept any money they won previously. If there was a tie, the player would win $1,000 in addition to the money they've already earned[[note]]though initially the full $5,000 before an ObviousRulePatch; see below[[/note]]. If the player wins, he/she won what remained of the $5,000 pot. In at least one "champions" episode, the pot was upped to $25,000, and the contestant who faced off against Ben for it [[spoiler:ended up winning the money, taking his total amount of money won from Ben to $30,000]][[note]] (Theoretically speaking, Ben's remaining stash could actually be LESS than the contestant's take during the first two rounds.)[[/note]].

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* BonusRound: The Best of Ten Test of Knowledge. Each side had 60 seconds to answer the same 10 questions. If the player lost, they only kept any money they won previously. If there was a tie, the player would win $1,000 in addition to the money they've already earned[[note]]though initially the full $5,000 before an ObviousRulePatch; see below[[/note]]. If the player wins, he/she won what remained of the $5,000 pot. In at least one "champions" episode, the pot was upped to $25,000, and the contestant who faced off against Ben for it [[spoiler:ended up winning the money, taking his total amount of money won from Ben to $30,000]][[note]] $30,000.]][[note]] (Theoretically speaking, Ben's remaining stash could actually be LESS than the contestant's take during the first two rounds.)[[/note]].)[[/note]]
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'''2001-2003:''' "Hello. I'm Ben Stein. My brain is a miraculous instrument. It contains the information I use to protect my money--$5,000. I'll put it up, but I won't give it up without a fight. But if you're smart enough, quick enough, and lucky enough, you can [[TitleDrop Win Ben Stein's Money]]."

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'''2001-2003:''' "Hello.Hello. I'm Ben Stein. My brain is a miraculous instrument. It contains the information I use to protect my money--$5,000. I'll put it up, but I won't give it up without a fight. But if you're smart enough, quick enough, and lucky enough, you can [[TitleDrop Win Ben Stein's Money]]."
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* {{Facepalm}}: Not uncommon to see Ben do this at the start of the second round--especially when the fifth category had a ''really'' raunchy {=pun=}.

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* {{Facepalm}}: Not uncommon to see Ben do this at the start of the second round--especially when the fifth category had a ''really'' raunchy {=pun=}.pun.
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* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Any of the theme shows, such as the episode where Ben and Jimmy were dressed in disco suits, or the one where Ben had the persona of Mr. Rogers.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/winben2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:260:It's ALL about the Benjamins.]]

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/winben2.org/pmwiki/pub/images/winben.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:260:It's [[caption-width-right:350:It's ALL about the Benjamins.]]
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-> ''Hello, I'm Ben Stein, and today, I'm going to make history. I'm putting up $5,000 that says I know more than you. So if you're smart enough, fast enough, and if you've got the guts, you can [[TitleDrop win Ben Stein's money]].''

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-> ''Hello, I'm Ben Stein, and today, I'm going to make history. I'm putting up $5,000 that says I know more than you. So if you're smart enough, fast enough, and if you've got the guts, you can [[TitleDrop win Ben Stein's money]].''
money]]!''

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